Anna came running out of the bathroom in a towel when she heard the scream. She thought Faana had some kind of accident but what she saw was Faana standing by a beam where she would mark her height every morning with a bright, excited smile on her face, she realized her concern was unneeded. Seeing Anna, Faana hopped over to her and held her hands as she said: "I grew an inch!"
Anna's eyes widened as she looked at how happy Faana was and let out a sigh of relief. "You screamed as if something bad happened!"
"No! I was just happy!" Faana smiled and ran back over to the wall and said: "Look!"
"Why are you still making marks on my wall!? Do it in your own room!" Anna felt depressed. Faana treated her room as her own and even snuck into her bed at night.
"But I am here more… I don't like being alone." Faana pouted her lip. The main reason she was always in Anna's room and sleeping with her was because going to her own room made her feel like she was back in the dragonic palace living in her broken-down courtyard. She hated such a feeling. Sitting in the dark as it crept up on you as if holding you down, made her feel suffocated.
Anna sighed, walked over, and hugged Faana. "Alright, until you are able to get my brother to accept you, you can stay here with me."
Faana smiled and hugged Anna back. "Thank you, Anna!"
A few hours passed, and Blake was sitting in front of his current elder's council. Mina's grandfather was also sitting here as he was now the council leader for the fairies. "I have been away for a while, and I want to hear all your opinions. I know each race has a different way of living so I am wondering how things are coming along."
"We fairies are right at home. The area Madam Lillia provided for us is much better than any place we could find on our own and has allowed some of us to actually raise our strength." Mina's grandfather replied.
"I am perfectly fine in my forge. You all supply me with everything I need, so I have no complaints." Thardra answered he was the council member for the elder dwarves.
"We have not really fully settled in yet since we only arrived yesterday, but so far we have everything we need." Princess Josline felt nervous as she answered since she did not expect to be in the presence of an elder dwarf. She was currently the council member for the dwarves, which were different from the elder dwarves.
"The mookin are very happy! We get food and are milked every day, so we are fine!" Mona was the current leader of the mookin.
"My fox clan only came yesterday, but we are very well taken care of. Our only complaint is that people keep trying to touch our tails…." Yui looked over at Lillia, who was currently hugging her tail as if to make a point.
Blake chuckled and patted her head. "I will pass down a rule later for those who are not in a relationship with the foxkin to keep their hands off."
"Thank you." Yui smiled but paused as she looked at Blake with an aggrieved expression. She realized Blake's wording meant that her sisters could still fluff her tail as they pleased!
"As you know, we humans are happy as we are now. Thanks to everyone here, we have a chance to rebuild the things we have lost." Mike felt slightly out of place with all these powerful races sitting around him, but at the same time, he felt happy that humans could sit at this table, thanks to Blake.
"We elves are very satisfied with the arrangements." Noa smiled as she leaned against Blake. She looked at the elder council, which was slowly growing in size, and felt this was truly how things should be done. She had high hopes for the future.
And lastly, Clance stood up and bowed to everyone. She had already undergone the contract Lillia had placed on her. But she was still under a slave contract with Blake. "Faana asked me to take her place as the elder for the Dragonic. While I know many of you despise my race and have every right to, I do hope you will not treat those of my race who come in the future badly. Although from how I see everyone interacting with my little sister, I can see this will probably never be a problem."
Lillia and Blake did not need to stand up since they were the only ones of their race. So there was no need for them to make reports. "It is good to see everyone is working together in harmony. How is the current land reclamation?"
"We have cut down a good portion of the area we have atm. We also fenced in some of the weaker monsters into the south side of the base for easy hunting. Horned rabbits are fast breeders, so they can become a kind of livestock for us to allow them to grow in number and cull when the time comes to feed the community." Mike stood up and answered. "Our outposts have grown in number as well to cover more visible area. But I have had reports about human monsters gathering in a town not far from here. I am not sure what is drawing so many there."
"Oh? Has anyone gone out to investigate?" Blake asked. He was curious as to how thorough Mike was being with these types of things.
"We sent out one unit, but they could not get too close. There are more than a few hundred there, but we can not get a full count." Mike replied.
Blake fell into deep thought. He tried to remember if he could think of anything that happened in his past life that would match this scenario, but he was drawing a blank. "We will need to try to sneak in and try to see what is going on. I will set up a team later. Have Bret pick a few people. He will also go with me."
"I will go." Tina suddenly spoke up. "I have reached my second evolution and should be strong enough to go out now. I also have investigation skills, so I might pick up on things others can't."
"I will go as well." Noa raised her hand as well. "You know elves have keen eyesight. And it is not right for humans to always need to send their people out. I will have Tel and Ged come as well."
"Alright. That is four, five, including myself. Have Bret get two more men." Blake readily agreed. He knew Tina needed more real-world experience, and Noa and her two knights were capable people, so he was not worried about them. "Base defense will fall on Clance and Faana. Lillia will go out if needed. But only if it is bad."
"Are you sure?" Clance looked up at Blake in surprise.
"You are here and now, part of our community and sitting on my elder's council. You are now one of my people. I will not treat you as an outsider. Protect this base and if you need help, ask the fairies. Of course, Mike will also be here to help. I doubt anything will happen while we are gone but just in case." Blake knew that with his order, Clance would fight her own people without an issue.
"You can count on me!" Clance smiled happily as her tail wagged back and forth. She was glad she could be of use to Blake.
"Alright, from now on, we will hold a meeting once a week. If I am not here, Lillia will be the leader. If you have issues or any needs that need to be brought up, please address them here. This is what this council is for. We all want to live peacefully together. Tina, send out a notice that no one is to touch a foxkin's tail, no matter what, unless they are in a relationship. The first offense will be a day in an evolution cell with no food and water. A second offense will be a week, with no food or water. Three strikes will be manual labor. We will make them dig a hole someplace for a year. It might seem harsh, but we do not want any of the races feeling uncomfortable." Blake looked at everyone and finally asked: "Anything else?"
When Blake saw no one speak up and nodded and said: "Then meeting adjourned."
Everyone began getting up while Blake leaned back in his chair. He wondered if he was acting like a proper leader. He was just trying to make a peaceful place for everyone, which was working so far, but what happens when they begin reaching one thousand people or ten thousand people? He had to start making new departments. Because not everything was covered by the contract, otherwise, no one would have any freedom at all.
As he was lost in thought, Blake suddenly felt movement in the little fox's space inside him. A white light shot out of his chest, and a white two-tailed fox appeared in front of him, staring up at him with its big round eyes. "Little fox!" Blake smiled and reached out and petted its head. The little fox immediately snuggled into the palm of his hand. Blake's expression became warm as he gently scooped the fox up into his arms. "You are finally healed. That is good."
Many miles away, a figure in a black cloak stumbled through a rocky desert, making his way toward the forest area off in the horizon. "That damn elf! What the hell did he do to me!?" The figure slipped in the sand and fell, revealing a man's face. It was half human and half something else. His teeth were sharp and pointy, and his mouth was much wider. One of his eyes was bright yellow, while his skin was black as night. One of his arms was huge with razor-sharp claws for fingers. He looked like someone had cut him in half and sewed him back together using half of a monster's body. "At least he was tasty…." The man who had a striking resemblance to a person Blake had met before, Fredrick Haralson, the man who should have made a contract with the little white fox, licked his lips as if he had eaten something delicious.
As Fredrick climbed back to his feet, a flash of murderous intent filled his eyes. "I will find that man and eat him too! Then I will take the fox for myself!"
